News You May Have Missed: 86-Yr-Old Black Man Tased & Left in ICU for ‘Own Good’

In news that you may have missed, an 86-year-old black man in South Carolina, Albert Chatfield, is now in intensive care after being tasered by police for what officials claim was for “his own good.” It all started on October 16 with calls that a man was driving erratically and the police initiated a traffic stop. Mr. Chatfield didn’t want to stop and drove further before eventually pulling over. This is when the cops claim that Mr. Chatfield came out of his SUV in a rage, yelled at officers and stepped “backwards toward traffic.” They even claimed that he took a “fighting stance” and wouldn’t respond to demands to and wasn’t making much sense as he was “hollering, really not making sense.” Then, one of the officers used his Taser, striking Mr. Chatfield in the chest and ribs. He then fell backward with some accounts claiming that Mr. Chatfield struck his head. He was handcuffed and taken by ambulance to the hospital. No charges have been filed against Mr. Chatfield.

Now, Mr. Chatfield finds himself in a medically-induced coma, has bleeding on three spots of the brain, suffers from a broken nose and facial lacerations and is unable to speak. Additionally, his family claims that he may have already been suffering from dementia which could’ve contributed to his driving. His family said he suffers from confusion and paranoia sometimes; however, Mr. Chatfield’s lawyer claims that he never tried to fight with police and was unarmed.

Another incident of white cops and a black suspect that went terribly wrong with the black suspect bearing the brunt of bodily harm. Now, there’s an elderly man who may not survive because he wasn’t shown any decency or compassion at his age. No one is saying that the police shouldn’t have come to investigate the situation. But, did they try using any other methods besides the Taser? Weren’t there other options available? Or did Mr. Chatfield’s race seal his deal from the beginning?